Getaway: Skiing peak to peak

Wednesday

Feb 25, 2009 at 12:01 AMFeb 25, 2009 at 5:18 AM

We're standing at the top of Deer Valley Resort in Utah, at an elevation of 9,400 feet. For two skiers from Boston, that's a little closer to heaven. But heaven isn't just above us, it's also before us: A couple inches of famously dry powder - the good stuff - born over the deserts to the west, now laying before us like the puffy white clouds of a child's painting.

Alexander Stevens

We're standing at the top of Deer Valley Resort in Utah, at an elevation of 9,400 feet. For two skiers from Boston, that's a little closer to heaven.

But heaven isn't just above us, it's also before us: A couple inches of famously dry powder - the good stuff - born over the deserts to the west, now laying before us like the puffy white clouds of a child's painting.

My wife and I glide effortlessly down the flat access trail that provides stunning views. To our left, Jodanelle Reservoir is a patch of indigo cut into the landscape thousands of feet below us. To our right, the magnificent cobalt blue Timpanogos Mountains stand like a proud family portrait.

It's breathtaking, and not just because the air is so thin.

We turn left and dive into Stein's Way, Deer Valley's signature trail. Each turn sends a spray of powder in a perfect arc. Back East, they have a name for these kinds of ski conditions: "Excellent."

We spent three February days hitting the three major ski areas in Park City, Utah. The day before, it was Park City Mountain Resort. And on our last day, it was off to The Canyons, where I heard a skier singing the Clash's "Should I Stay?" mid-run, inspired by the giddy rush that only 6 inches of new powder can provide.

But perhaps the most impressive thing about skiing these three mountains isn't how great the skiing is when they get snow, but how great it is when they don't.

When we arrived, it had been about 10 days since the white stuff fell. And yet, at Deer Valley, voted best ski area in the country in 2008 and 2009 by the readers of Ski magazine, we couldn't have had more fun. We were the first ones down Morning Star, a black diamond run that steadied our ski legs and got the adrenaline pumping. Deer Valley is famous for its grooming, and rightly so. It was perfect - set an edge with no fear of ice lurking below.

We conquered all seven peaks at Deer Valley, which is one of only three mountains in North America with a no-snowboarders policy. That's one of those restrictions that, at first blush sounds a little exclusive, but after you've skied there a couple hours, you kind of appreciate it (unless you're a snowboarder).

Deer Valley is cruiser heaven - much like Park City Mountain Resort, where we hit one of those glorious days that draws skiers all the way out from the East Coast. Above us, a Big Sky blue canopy stretched from horizon to horizon, and before us, white carpet trails.

Blue also dominates the trail map, which is a network of intermediate slopes, spiced with some expert runs. Off the King Con high-speed quad, it's nothing but blues, a dozen of them cut diagonally under the lift. An intermediate skier could happily spend the whole day there. We also liked the Silverloade high-speed "six pack" (seats six). One of the most popular lifts on the mountain, it not only offers more blue runs -including fabulous Parley's Park - but also expert trials like Double Jack and Fools Gold, cruiser trails built just the way I like them: Steep and frosted with an inch or two of powder. Your skis vibrate with energy and it's easy to translate their chatter: They're glad they're skiing Park City, too.

By 2:30 in the afternoon, the thermometer read 50 degrees. The sun would have been blinding without goggles or sunglasses, but the snow was still good. Classic Western skiing.

On Day Three, it came. Six inches of powder. We headed for The Canyons with the right attitude and the wrong skis. Ideally we would have switched out of our Eastern-based shaped skis into something fatter that would have allowed us to ride more on top of the snow. But even with skis designed to cut, not glide, we found the conditions that turn otherwise normal people into "powder hounds."

The Canyons is the biggest of the three resorts - a remarkable 3,700 skiable acres (compared with 1,215 at Killington, for example). Early in the morning, we headed straight for the southern tip called Dream Peak, and found dream powder. We cut our way down Pipe Dream, slowly remembering the technique changes that are necessary when the snow is knee-deep: Tips up and no edges.

The initial plan was to explore all the peaks the way we had at the first two mountains. But when you find Nirvana, you don't ask, "What else is out there?" We stayed at Dream Peak for a few runs, finding fresh turns on the first several runs - some of the best skiing of the entire trip. It wasn't until the trails got cut up that we decided to explore elsewhere. By the afternoon, with legs weary from three straight days of relentless skiing, we opted for the cruiser-friendly fun of Upper and Lower Boa.

The Canyons is fewer-frills skiing. If six buddies were coming out to Park City from Boston, or Dallas, or Atlanta, they'd probably head to the Canyons, eager to challenge the double-diamond runs off the famed Ninety-Nine 90 lift. Challenging stuff. If I had a kid who snowboarded, I'd go to Park City Mountain Resort where we could share the mountain. And if I wanted a relaxing ski vacation, I'd spend most of my time at Deer Valley, where service is an obsession.

Craig McCarthy, who works with the Park City Chamber of Commerce, tells of skiers from the East who hop a Friday morning direct flight to Salt Lake City (their helmets in the overhead storage), go straight to the mountain from the airport and ski that afternoon. They'll ski right through Sunday morning, and be back on the East Coast by Sunday evening. We bow to their commitment (read: insanity), but for goodness sake, do this trip right. Go, as we did, midweek. It's more relaxing, and best of all, you'll own the mountain. We never waited in a lift line more than two minutes, and 95 percent of the time we just skied right up to the lift.

And for skiers who know all about long lift lines and crowded slopes, that's a taste of heaven almost as delicious as powder. Almost.

When you're not skiing

There's lots of non-skiing activities at Park City, but these were three of our favorites.

1. Bobsled, Olympic Park: For some extreme "fun," experience the 80 mph, 5 G-force excitement of this Olympic bobsled run. They challenge you to count the 15 turns in your head. You won't get past four, I guarantee you. It's not cheap: $200 for 58 seconds, but any thriller-seeker will tell you it's worth it.

2. Xtreme Zipline, Olympic Park: You'll hit 50 mph on the world's steepest zip line. And if you get lucky, you'll go at the same time a ski jumper launches himself off the 120-meter hill, and the two of you can fly together.

3. Tubing, Gorgoza Park: A tame alternative to zip lines and bobsleds. At first we thought this was more for kids than adults, but when we got a running start and went head first down the hill, we got more of a thrill than we expected. Great for the whole family.

If You Go...

Getting There: Fly to Salt Lake City. We had great luck with Delta/Northwest, flying out of Manchester, N.H., and paying just $260 (roundtrip), with one stop in Detroit. Direct flights are also available. From the airport to Park City, it's 45 minutes via shuttle or rental car.

Staying There: You'll find a complete clearinghouse of rentals - in Park City and on the mountains - at www.parkcityinfo.com. We stayed at a slopeside condo at Park City Mountain Resort; about $200 per night.

Skiing There: Adult single day passes are $81 at The Canyons and $83 at Park City and Deer Valley. There's a slight discount for multi-day.

Find more travel features and the Get Away with Fran blog at www.wickedlocal.com/travel

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.